KLF 2020: Experience the Fifth Edition of Literature on the Beach

With factors aplenty, the reason need not be specific for that piece of land to be crowded. Designed to separate water from the inland, the waves, breeze and the sand have always been a crowd puller. But Kozhikode and its beach witness four days of frenzy every year in January not for the clichéd factors but for what it becoming to be known for over the years.

Set against the backdrop of the serene beach of Kozhikode, the haven of food, football music and literature, Kerala Literature Festival has become synonymous with literature enthusiasts all over the country making it the fastest growing literature festival in terms of footfall and the plethora of voices of the authors and thinkers from around the world. Started in 2016, KLF, has expanded its reach with better and evolved editions with speakers, like Taslima Nasrin, Ramchandra Guha, Arundati Roy, Shashi Tharoor, Richard Stallman, Romila Thapar, Noam Chomsky, Karan Thapar, Sadguru, enriching the literary space they have already created in one, through their words. An interesting line up of Malayalam authors with their conversations evokes pride in our language and the literature we grow up with. This year, with Tamil as the literature in focus, will see an eminent line up of personalities to give us a wider picture of the classical and the oldest living language in India.

The dialogues and debates ensures the freedom of expression, discovers new voices, with powerful and relevant themes of the times. With climate crisis being recognized as priority, the fifth edition of KLF features Environment and Climate Change as its central theme navigating through literature where the compass is always aligned to. The fifth edition brings together literary luminaries, environmentalists, diplomats and artists from India and abroad to enrich the literary and cultural space. Prior to the fest, a lecture series is being conducted across the state aimed to engage and explore literary, political and cultural aspects. The first among the KLF Imprint lecture series will be led by writer and poet Balachandran Chullikad at Victoria College, Palakkad on December 12th 2019.

The literature festival will be held between 16th– 19th January 2020 at Kozhikkode. Entry for KLF is free to the public and all the programs are designed to attract wide audiences of every demographic. The Literature on Beach will be an experience like no other!